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I’m not a bow guy, at least not yet, but I’m learning a thing or two about the science of shooting a bow and arrow. In my quest to learn I have come across something very interesting. I’ve known that an arrow needs something attached to it to give it stability in flight….feathers, called fletchings, or plastic, called vanes. Both fletchings and vanes are pretty much shaped the same and installed using special glue. Both have to be held in a device that holds them in place until the glue has time to dry. This takes time to accomplish and the better you are at doing it, the more the demand is for your services.

So, I went on line to find out the difference between fletchings and vanes, as I didn’t have a clue. I have shared with you my limited knowledge about the subject. ALSO, while I was on line, I found out about another product out there that is designed to take the place of both fletchings and vanes and yet it still does the same thing and that is to keep the arrow stable while it flight.

Take a look at this video:

If I were an archer, I think I would be checking into these little guys. It just seems to me they do the stabilizing, keep the arrow going where you want it to go, and they do not require any super knowledge or special equipment to use.

I’m not a political anything and will avoid most arguments and confrontation if I can….however, don’t piss me off.

I was still in high school when I said to one of my friends, “Someday they will announce the take-over of the United States on the 5 O’clock news”….how far are we from that now? I graduated from high school in 1967, it’s now 2014…We are very lucky to still be a United States of America.

This news is not new to me. I could see it coming when we (almost all of us) were demanding more money for the jobs we were doing. We had the world by the tail, so to speak, we had our freedom, our homes, our jobs, our kids, our hunting, our gun rights, our religion (if we wanted it), we had our everything……

I could see the writing on the wall when I worked at a local cement pipe company, my first job out of high school. One of the first guys to approach me was a “labor representative”, who asked me if I wanted to join the labor union. Then when I said no, he said, well, you couldn’t anyway cuz they are going to be laying you off. What? I was just hired two weeks before. Sure enough, I didn’t join the union and I got my notice of severance the next Monday. Reduction in force it said. But I know a kid my age who got hired the week after that….what gives with that? I didn’t care at the time, there were better jobs waiting for me….still labor jobs, but what the heck, I was making $3.85/hour! None of my friends were making that! And I didn’t have to belong to a union, I still got “union wages”……Union wages……The lobbyists were working hard to keep their plushy jobs for sure.

So, I kept my eye on the “unions”, not for any other reason than to see what the unions were doing that was so great for the American worker. What I saw over the next “many, many” years was this: They caused the United States to begin our spiral into the depths of oblivion! There were unions for almost every facet and job type that could ever be imagined. The teachers union, the postal workers union, the miners union, the theatrical union, the sports announcers union, the “you name it” union (I’ve made some of these up….I think). I started working for the U.S. Government after college and the military and sure enough there was a union there. I didn’t join it, but I retained my job, unlike the one at the pipe making plant.

There was a time in American History when the Unions were needed! They helped the working class of America gain enough to make ends meet and not see their own children sold to the highest bidder. Laws were enacted to protect the young labor force and to allow men and women to work and make enough money to buy their own homes and clothes and food and not owe their souls to “the company store”. Tennessee Ernie Ford sang a song about that:

“Sixteen Tons”(originally by Merle Travis)

Some people say a man is made outta’ mud
A poor man’s made outta’ muscle and blood
Muscle and blood and skin and bones
A mind that’s a-weak and a back that’s strongYou load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go
I owe my soul to the company store

I was born one mornin’ when the sun didn’t shine
I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
I loaded sixteen tons of number 9 coal
And the store boss said “Well, a-bless my soul”

You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter, don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go
I owe my soul to the company store

I was born one mornin’, it was drizzlin’ rain
Fightin’ and trouble are my middle name
I was raised in the canebrake by an ol’ mama lion
Cain’t no-a high-toned woman make me walk the line

You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter, don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go
I owe my soul to the company store

If you see me comin’, better step aside
A lotta men didn’t, a lotta men died
One fist of iron, the other of steel
If the right one don’t a-get you, then the left one will

You load sixteen tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter, don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go
I owe my soul to the company store.

——————————–

And it was about the time this was written that Americans should have started to wake up about the need of a Union. But we didn’t……We continued down that road and paid into the union coffers in order that we be treated equal and/or higher than we though our “bosses” would treat us. We demanded more money for the work we were doing because inflation was taking its toll on our take home pay. We spoke freely about being taxed at too high a rate, and demanded even higher wages….and so it continued and continued.

On the flip side (we are so stupid), the costs of all things we needed or thought we needed continued to rise to meet our ever so pressing demands on getting paid more….still does today huh?…..What will happen if minimum wage goes to $14 per hour? Think about that dummy.

Sure, I’d like to be a million-air some day. Well, with inflation and everything else, make that a “billion-air” some day. (Please click on one of the advertiser on this site…:-))

So, with our greed out of the way (or in the way), the manufacturing plants lobbied very hard to make it OK for them to seek outside the U.S. employment possible so they could produce products “for the U.S.” at a cheaper than could be done “inside the U.S.” rate, to be able to sell to the people of the U.S. at a cost they could afford. (That sounds like a mixed up confusion of confussionary mixedup jargan if you ask me). In order to do that they would have to move their plants outside the U.S. borders and hire locals in the other countries to do the work. Okeedokee. Let’s do that.

Suddenly we are faced with China housing a whole lot of U.S. company plants making hundreds of thousands of U.S. good being sold back to us. Of course we, the U.S. Citizen, like the products because they cost less than the ones made locally and for all intents and purposes work just fine. Well, except for the use of lead based paints, faulty craftsmanship, safety violations (USA standards only of course, not China’s) etc. etc. AND etc.

Why has it come to this? Because of our own greed! We want more money! We want more of everything there is. We became complacent with our “world power”…..we were once the most powerful country in the world….we could kick anyone’s butt. We could out produce any other country, man for man, woman for woman..WE WERE A PROUD NATION…we were a force to be reckoned with. NOW? We owe ourselves to China! We owe ourselves to many countries around the world. If they want to call in “the chips”, we can not pay for those chips and they will announce on the 5 o’clock news just who is going to be calling the shots “tomorrow”.

I’m sorry folks, but it is not surprising at all to see Russia sending their planes to “watch the gulf”…..hell they aren’t watching the gulf at all, they are getting their bombers closer to Washington D.C. so it will be really easy to place a bomb right where they want it. Don’t we use that same tactic to get close to some country we want to “invade” next? We have been doing that since the 1930’s. I’m surprised Russia has taken so long to catch up. But now, they have China backing them. This makes me sick to my stomach. I’m sorry, but it has been coming for a long time and with our current spineless “leader”, we are doomed. Start learning Chinese folks.

A couple of months ago Winemaker and I made the trip up to Hoback Junction in Wyoming to drop off some elk ivories that had collected in the drawer from last years hunts. I wanted to make sure she had a necklace and some ear rings to match her ring. The man who made our wedding rings really did a great job on them and so who else would we go to to have a necklace and ear rings made? Place advertisement here:

Anyway, our trip back then was nice and cool and a fun drive. When we told him what we wanted he was more than happy to accept the challenge and took the ivories and told us it would be after the hunting season before he could get around to making what we wanted. That was ok with us.

Well, last week his wife called and said the jewelry was ready to pick up. SUPER! We tentatively said we would be up Thursday, Nov. 13 to pick them up.

Since that time we have been watching the weather forecasts for not only Willard, but also Jackson Hole Wyoming. Hoback Junction is 10 miles south of Jackson. Yesterday morning we were enjoying our morning visit over my cup of coffee when I looked at the forecast for the week. Willard’s forecast calls for cold on Wednesday with clouds building in the afternoon, continuing to build and 80% chance of snow beginning Thursday morning and continuing through Friday….HMMMM. Let’s look at Jackson’s weather……80% chance of snow Wednesday, continuing through Saturday with accumulations nearing 10 inches, colder and some blowing and drifting could be expected. Oh my!

Do we really want to wait until Thursday to go to Hoback?

It didn’t take long to realize we should probably go right away as the longer we wait the closer to snowy conditions we will encounter….A quick call to Rod Huskey to confirm someone would be tending the store and off we went…let’s go!

We got away from home about 8:45 and headed North….Up through Logan, on to Soda Springs, Idaho, through the canyon and down to Freedom, Wyoming, North again to Alpine, Wyoming and then up the canyon to Hoback Junction. Mapquest says it’s a 4 hour drive. We can get up there and be back by 6 p.m. and that would even give us an hour to BS with Rod and Candy and to have some lunch at the Yankee Doodle’s restaurant. Our trip began with a delay in Smithfield….A big truck had hit a power pole and had the lines down in the road. All traffic was being diverted. It took a good half hour to get through and back on the road. That was OK, what else were we going to do anyway. Besides, we have always said, “there are reasons for everything”, we had no idea what the reason for this delay was, but we would accept it.

As we got closer to Soda Springs, Idaho, the weather was beginning to settle in around us….

I asked Winemaker to take a picture out the front window to show the skiff of snow alongside the road. Rod had told Winemaker on the phone that they had about 6 inches of snow at their place. I reassured her the roads would be in fine shape as it is a major access to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and they would never let the road get so bad as to close it. Soon we found ourselves in Soda Springs, Idaho….home of the famous “Soda Grizz” (I wonder how he is doing)….

Hey! Soda Springs has some snow…we are about half way to Hoback Junction and my mind is racing….do we continue to go on or do we call it and turn around? I don’t say anything to Winemaker, but continue as if it is no big deal (which actually it wasn’t…..yet…). From Soda Springs the road winds and twists up past Blackfoot Reservoir and up and over and down a small canyon called Tin Cup.

Not much “road crew” work been done here.

We haven’t slid off the road yet, so life is good and we will continue on our way. Besides, this is a local storm and the road will get better as we get lower on the other side of Tin Cup.

We did encounter a couple of “hold onto the wheel, take a deep breath and hold it” spots but we came out and through Freedom, Wyoming (home of the famous Freedom Arms gun manufacturing plant). I think Freedom, Wyoming has a population of about 10, but it triples during the working hours of the gun plant, Monday through Friday.

At the junction of “Freedom and hwy 89”, we turned left (North) and headed for Alpine, Wyoming. The road was very good at this point, a little wet, but the road crews had been out in great numbers a few hours before and so it was a road you could go the speed limit on (65).

By now my butt was getting tired of sitting and I had no idea what time it was, I knew it was after noon and we still had a pretty fair distance to go. 4 hours from 9 would make it 1 p.m., our scheduled time of arrival in Hoback Junction. Winemaker assured me we were only 20 minutes behind schedule. That’s great considering the white knuckle stuff I had been driving in since leaving Soda Springs. Things will be better from here on. In Alpine the junction toward Jackson Hole, Wyoming is a very big junction. We turned right at the junction and proceeded to follow the Snake River up its course. What a pretty river and today it was extremely cold looking…I wonder why?

Oh ya! More ice on the road…hey doesn’t the road crew know this is a major route to Jackson Hole? Come on guys, get some salt and sand out. We are much to close now to turn around and I’m thinking, once we make it to Hoback, I suppose we could continue up to Jackson and spend the night if we have to.

Arriving at our destination we did find nearly 6 inches of fresh snow on the ground.

We went on in and found the place warm and comfy, just like always. Rod was in the back pounding out more customer orders of custom made jewelery, while his wife, Candy took care of business at the counter. She had a lunch date or a deliver to make or something and so we didn’t keep her too long. We got what we came for, gave a hearty “Thank You” to Rod for the fine work and off we went to see how the roads were going back the way we came.

In Alpine we had to stop for lunch at Yankee Doodle’s! It is the only restaurant in town, at least the only one we saw. We had eaten there many years back and since it was Veterans Day, maybe they would be having a special meal. You never know. There was only one other customer in there when we walked in, but it was obvious when we went past on the way through toward Hoback, the place was packed. No place to park outside, so we know the place is where all the locals eat. We chose to sit back near the fireplace which was very toasty. While we were sitting there a group of young people came in and sat behind us, even closer to the fireplace.

A little bit about Yankee Doodle’s…..Before you even walk in you realize this place is “all American”….red, white and blue…even the curb markers are painted in alternating colors. Through the door you see so much red, white and blue decor it is mind boggling. There is actually too much to see and so you would have to go back time after time to try and see it all. Signs are everywhere talking political trash on both sides, but most of the negative stuff is aimed at the “donkeys”. The owner of this establishment is very Pro-gun and even has a sign just inside the door, next to the “no smoking or vaping” sign that reads:

“GUNS ARE WELCOME ON PREMISES, PLEASE KEEP ALL WEAPONS HOLSTERED UNLESS NEED ARISES IN SUCH A CASE, JUDICIOUS MARKSMANSHIP IS APPRECIATED”

Looking around the establishment is an array of stuff, like I said, you just can’t see it all in one trip there.

They have a sign by the cash register that says they will give all active military personnel a complimentary meal. So, for you active military folks, get on up there and get a free lunch! By the way, Winemaker and I had their down home plain and simple hamburgers, mine with country spuds and hers with tater tots. It was almost too much to eat and for both meals the bill came to $18.36. Can you beat that? They serve beer too if you prefer and since I had a long and unknown road condition drive ahead, as tempting as it was to have one, I just had water. One more observation I made while there. The windows are double, double panes. What I mean is on the outside is mounted a double paned window with the sliding glass on your right side as you look at it. On the inside is a double paned sliding window with the sliding glass on the right as you look at it. For ease of cleaning you just slide the window open, clean the inside of the outside window, close the window and clean the insides of both pieces of glass. Then go outside and do the same thing! Clean as a whistle! And with the cold weather outside, just keep both windows shut and you are toasty warm inside. Smart idea.

The drive home came with a decision…do I go back over Tin Cup, which was a scary adventure, or go down through Bear Lake to get home? Bear Lake direction won over the decision and off we went. Just outside of Thane, Wyoming the road took an icy turn and continued that way until we started down Montpelier Canyon, then it got progressively better to the point of dry roads. We got stuck behind a farmer with a load of grain coming down Logan Canyon and didn’t get around him until we were almost out of the canyon. That slowed us up quite a bit but we still got home right at 6 p.m. For future trips up that way, I think going through Bear Lake is the way to go.

What did we see as far as animals on this trip? The always present hawks and birds of almost every kind, including wild turkeys and ducks. Tons of deer, even one small buck. A white weasel (ermine) and a coyote.

I don’t have any pictures of the jewelry we picked up, but it is absolutely beautiful. Small ear rings made from the ivory teeth from my cow elk and matching necklace from one of the bull elk ivories. I’d post a picture on here right now, but Winemaker is wearing it while at work today…run on over to Smith and Edwards and see it first hand!

Ya, what is it? I have my definition and it includes being pretty fair to the animal I’m in pursuit of, but I want to bag my game at the same time. I’ll resort to camo clothing, hiding behind something, getting closer for my shot, shooting not too far from the road if need be, taking a 400 yard shot with my scoped 7mm rifle, using a bi-pod to steady the gun, looking through binoculars to make sure it is “big enough”…the list goes on and on. I suppose back when Nanook was carrying a spear and hoping he could feed his family, some in the tribe or nearby tribe thought his use of a long sticked spear was not ethical. You need to jump astride the animals back and cut its throat with your hand made flint knife….THAT is ethical!

Times have changed and now we don’t HAVE to hunt to feed our families. The food that comes from the animals we harvest are a bonus to the table fair we enjoy. A special meal to be shared with family and friends….Have you ever had an elk steak? How about some antelope tonight? Bear would be nice.

And so it goes with “the book”, the record book is what I’m referring to. Yes, my name is in “the book”, but was it because I was ethical in my capture of a gorgeous creature? Well, under the guidelines outlined in the “rules for the book”, I was ethical in taking that animal. Knowing what I know today, would I take that animal in the same way today? YES! It was ethical in my mind….it was then…it still is today.

Ethics falls into a myriad of categories and for some, my way of thinking isn’t ethical in a lot of regards….and likewise…mine doesn’t necessarily reflect ethical behavior in theirs…that’s life.

Well, the folks at Boone and Crockett have come out with a video explaining their side of things. Sure, they don’t say, THIS is the way it IS….They are saying it is up to the individual hunter to make their own rules for what is ethical in the pursuit of the game we choose to hunt. They remind us that the ethical rules are in three arenas: The laws we hunt under, The unwritten laws of the group(s) we hunt with and Our own way of thinking…..What we do when it’s only us against our game, or better yet, how we act when “there it is, the big one I’ve been looking for all my life”.

I took the time to watch this video and I believe it has a message just for you. Please watch it and enjoy it. After you have watched it…….then……You decide!

As you already know, or should know, I’m not an advocate of shooting big game at long range distances and this video is aimed at those who are.

I had the pleasure to attend the Brigham City Bowmen group at their Be a Girl Shoot for cancer awareness month. What a blast! Even though I did not shoot I watched and learned a whole lot about shooting a bow. I saw some spectacular shooting as well. When I asked one guy how he did, his comment was something like this, “I dropped two, only got 298”. For those who don’t know what that means, it means he only missed a perfect score by 2 points! Later in the day, he shot a second round and was more pleased with his performance. Again when I asked him how he did, he said he shot another 298, but was more pleased because he had 28 “X” ring shots! 28 out of 30 in the “X”!!!!!! Now that is some kind of shooting.

The shooting wasn’t all there was to the day however. You see in order for this to be a special shoot and to bring awareness to the ugliness of cancer, they made the shooters (who wanted to play) wear womens clothing! And yes, even I wore a dress and bra for the occation even though I didn’t play in the shooting….support is support, right?

How’s that for a selfie!?!!!

They had some super raffle prizes as well, and at the end of the day I was calling foul! As they seemed to be bringing all the prizes over to me! I’ll make sure they get distributed. But I really wanted one of the bows they were giving away, but my luck didn’t hold out for those and I didn’t win. The two guys that did win, however, were really tickled. You didn’t have to be present to win and Corey Barton, the club’s President made the call while I was still there and told the guy who won it about his good fortune. He was tickled. The other guy was still on hand and was equally as tickled even if the bow was pink! Congratulations!

And a big THANK YOU to Full Draw Archery for being the sponsor for that bow!

So, you have seen a little bit about the “dress like a girl” thing in these few pictures. Let me show you some of the others I took (I apologize to anyone who might have been in attendance that I didn’t get a picture of):

There was a 9 o’clock group I missed as I didn’t get to the event until nearly 10:30….I did have some honey-do’s to get done before I could attend the happening!

Some individual pictures I took at random were interesting as well. It seemed like everyone had a blast and I believe they had 91 or 92 shooters there! That is a lot of organizing and I know all too well what that can do for your sanity if you are in charge of it. Tickets to sell! Food to prepare! Making sure the facilities are ready! Banners put up! And the list goes on and on! For those of you who were in charge of this, I commend you all on a job very well done! You even had a reporter from the Ogden Standard Examiner on site making sure he had the event covered:

Cory, blue really makes your eyes shine! Just sayin! Oh ya! You must be really working out alot too….look at those pecks! 😉

I had the privilege of talking to one of the “old timers” in the bow shooting arena. I don’t know most of these guys but I did learn a whole lot about the shooting of bows. This guy had a ton of information to share and even though he can’t do it anymore because of some cancer issues of his own, he was there to make sure the event was being conducted properly.

So, young and old alike were on hand to support and play. The biggest thing I came away with at days end was this: Shooting bows is a sport that is absolutely on an equal footing between men and women. You don’t have to have a bow that takes 100 pounds of pull to hit the bullseye of your target. 10 pounds pull will hit the bull just as well as 60 pounds pull. So, if you have been thinking about getting into this sport and are uncomfortable with the pull weight of the string….forget about it! Go do it!

The Brigham City Bowmen (Bowpeople) are a great and fun loving group of people! People who really care!

Beards and dresses….

This gal (guy) won the pink bow!

Pecks or what?

What’s with this picture?

A bit over the top, so to speak!

Oh and there were some “real ladies” present as well:

Where did we see this girl (guy) before? Sometimes the situation can get out of control!

Thanks again Brigham Bowmen and all the sponsors! This was fun for me and I’m sure it was fun for everyone who came to it. And as for some of the shooting….I liked it!

This is a buck that was taken somewhere West of Franklin Idaho by these two guys during the 2014 Idaho mule deer hunt. I think the buck is magnificent, but these two are going to get “hammered” by people because of their story, and I feel very bad for them. They are very proud of their accomplishment and when you read the story about how they got it, you too will probably scratch your head.

First off, most of you know I’m not a big fan of long range shooting, especially at big game animals. I firmly believe that the average hunter does not do enough long range shooting to even know what their rifle is capable of and that is just to be able to “hit” the target being aimed at. Couple that with the “punch” of the bullet out at long range distances and you have a whole “nuther” animal in the mix. It takes around 700 foot pounds of energy for the bullet to enter the vitals of a mule deer and when a bullet that may weigh 150 grains gets out to say, 1,000 yards, it just doesn’t have that kind of energy left and most likely, if the animal is hit, it will result in a wounded animal that probably will spend the next 3 to 6 months suffering before recovering. Or even worse, will be wounded severely enough to become coyote or other predator food, AFTER the predator kills it. Not a pretty sight in my minds eye.

So, a bit of a background on these two. The story says something like this: We were driving our 4 wheelers up the road and spot a bunch of white butts on the hillside about 400 or 500 yards away. We stopped and cranked up the power on our scopes and saw this big buck in the middle. We each shot, I put two rounds down range and my son in law shot 3 times. We missed each time and the buck took off running. He was about 600 or so yards away and we both raised our guns about 8 inches above his back and fired at the same time. The buck dropped. When we finally got over to it, there were two bullet holes in it.

There is the story about the kill. The story goes on and talks about how famous they were in town and how many other hunters came to view the big buck. Some of those hunters had been trying to get on the buck for several years. Well it’s dead now.

My take:

I don’t know Idaho hunting laws, but in Utah to shoot from a road is not legal. Did they take the time to get off their 4 wheelers, step 50 feet off the side of the road and take their shots? I doubt it. If they did, did they shoot across the road? How steady were the rifles when they shot? Did they use the 4 wheelers as gun rests? If they did, then they shot from the road…a no-no…. Taking a 400 yard shot is a pretty long shot even with a scoped rifle. But, in their defense, I have to say that last year, I shot two cow elk very much dead and each of them were 400 yards away, and I’m not a great shot even with a scoped rifle. Now, put that same animal another 200 yards away and I don’t think I would even come close to hitting it.

Most big game rifle bullets drop 2 to 3 feet at 400 yards when sighted in at a normal 100 yard distance. And for them to say they both aimed 8 inches over its back and fired and the buck dropped with two bullets in it….OK, I guess they did.

I recently read an article published by the Boone and Crocket Association which denounced long range shooting of big game animals as something they did not consider ethical or as fair chase. I have to agree with them. However, they did not say what the yardage was where it broke from being considered both ethical and fair chase. I think they are letting the hunter decide, but at the very least, I think there should be a line on the application for consideration in their “book” that asks you to state the distance you shot your animal at and how many shots you took before putting the animal down. By having that information available it might make others think twice about taking that long range shot. But I doubt it. When you see the buck or bull of a lifetime it is hard not to take that “hail Mary” shot.

There are a whole lot of hunters taking those long shots and with the media the way it is right now, more and more young hunters are taking up the “sport”. Clubs have been formed that go to great lengths supporting long range shooting. There are even business’ that teach you how to hit a target out to 1,000 yards (and farther). I’m not against that. I love to shoot long distances to try and hit a target….I love doing that. I would also never hesitate to shoot at a coyote or fox at 500 yards, maybe even farther out. I wouldn’t lose any sleep if I hit one out that far and didn’t recover it either….that’s just my way of thinking. However, I do consider big game in a different ball park than a predator such as a coyote or fox. My 400 yard shots at the elk were definitely my longest range distance and had I not witnessed another hunter putting down his cow elk at that distance I would have never tried the shot myself.

You decide what is best for you. As for me, I believe these two guys didn’t have any business shooting that big buck at the distance they said they took it at. The chart I’ve included here shows you the distance above or below your target the bullet will be at varying ranges out to 500 yards. It also shows you the foot pounds of energy the bullet has out at the distances being shot. Keep in mind this is a 30 caliber bullet and not everyone shoots a 30 caliber pointed bullet. You can see from the chart that the foot pounds of energy drops around 200 fp in each 100 yard distance and if these guys actually shot the deer at 600 yards, the bullets would have had less than 600 foot pounds of energy left, I’ll bet they found both bullets inside the bucks body when it was processed. Look again at the chart and if they had their rifles sighted in at 200 yards, which I consider a normal sight in distance for a scoped rifle, their bullet would hit 58 inches low at 500 yards. 60 inches is 5 feet people! So, it makes sense to aim 8 inches over its back at 600 yards and fire away (eye brows raised). By the way, this chart comes from the Hornady Companies web site and I’m very sure these numbers are not just made up.